Death Note: Forever Note
by Beyond-Ryuzaki
Summary: Where as Mello only had the fisrt half, I Nate River, have the second. This is the following report to the LABB murder cases. About Naomi Misora being contacted again by L. About Beyond's secret. About another case of cold-blooded murders. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

** Death Note: Forever Note.**  
Chapter One; The Case

Kira is finished. I have eradicated him from the world. Well, not me personally. It was not me who had written 'Light Yagami' in the Shinigami Ryuk's Death Note. But perhaps I drove the Shinigami to write his name. Perhaps not. By the sound of it, Ryuk the Shinigami said something that provoked me to think that, in the end, he would have written 'Light Yagami' himself anyway. But to the main point. With Kira now eradicated and the fear of the 'divine judgment' slowly returning to normal the biggest, hardest case of my life so far has ended. And, although I am glad to see it end, it has left me with a lot of time on my hands. Other cases don't compare. So it was because of this reason that I decided to return to Mello. By that I mean start a separate and private investigation, not top myself.

It was then that I discovered the notes that Mello had left behind. Originally, the investigation was to find out what Mello had been doing for all those years away, as soon as he'd left Wammy's. Although he may have hated me, thought of me as big-headed and unemotional, it did not mean I shared the same resentment. I loved Mello. He was like the big brother I never had at Wammy's. Although he may have said he hated me, "No one else could bully the Albino but him." To put it in to Mello's words. I hoped that he, underneath it all, had at least a little love for his younger 'brother'.

So, during my investigation into the notes that Mello had left behind, I stumbled upon the letter 'L' printed on the front of one. I didn't think it was a coincidence, maybe point five percent. I was sure it had something to do with our idol. So in curiousity, I read that file first. That was where I learned about the LABB murder cases. That was where almost everything in this following report finally made one hundred percent sense to me. Why Naomi Misora was contacted again by L. About the secret that Beyond had kept to himself. About why Beyond had given his own notes on the case to L which are now in my possession. About another case of cold-blooded murders. While I have Mr Aiziwa and Mr Matsuda out of out HQ and on the trail of the drug deal gone wrong case I have just a little time to write these notes. Where as Mello only had the first half, I, Nate River, have the second. And once again, as me and Miheal stand together, we can make a whole. One hundred percent. So for this story, the unwritten second half, I shall be your narrator, your navigator, your storyteller. I am the first successor. I am the one who caught Kira. I am Nate River, also know as Near. Happy Readings.

CHAPTER ONE

Greg Walker sighed as he entered the lobby of the posh apartment building he lived at. He had been at work all day, and at the age of twenty nine, he had lost all excitment of his job.

"Hey Mr Walker." The pretty receptionist greeted Greg as he strode past to enter the lift.

"Hey there Mag." He grinned and winked as the elevator doors slid shut.

_Oh she so fancies me. Huh, I guess I'll take her out on a date tomorrow. No need to tell Nancy about it._

Greg examined himself in the shiny surface of the lift doors, admiring his silky blonde hair, his brilliant white teeth, the spotless complextion...

_Bing! Floor Eight._

The lift doors slid open and Greg exited the elevator to stroll down to his apartment. The whole building was tall and wide resulting in two apartments on one floor, each quite big. Whistling, Greg unlocked the door to his apartment thinking about the beautiful brunette downstairs, about where to take her an what excuse to tell Nancy. Entering his large, open living room/kitchen, Greg dumped his bag and flicked the light switch.

Nothing happened.

He checked the bathrooms switch.

Again nothing.

_Again! That's twice in one week that the electrics have gone off._

Angrily, Greg turned to go and complain when he suddenly heard a noise and stopped in his tracks.

A soft little thump. Coming from his bedroom.

Slowly, Greg advanced towards the bedroom.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Pushing on the wood of the door warily, he peered into his room. The curtains were wide open, allowing the moon light to trickle into the bedroom, illuminating... a foot? The foot swung forward, then gently lowered and hit the bed frame making a subtle sound.

_Thump._

"Ah, glad to see I finally got your attention." A voice spoke, not too far away from the foot. But the person's face and upper body were hidden by the shadow from the canopy. Greg stood up to his full hieght and marched fully into the room.

"Look pal, I dunno who you are but-"

"Now, now, Mr walker. Let's just have a little chat, shall we?" The person cut over him.

"Hey... how d'you know my name? How d'you get in here!" Greg demanded, his pulse quickening at the sound of the person's calm patronizing voice.

Said shadowed person then sighed. "Let's just calm things down now shall we?" they asked again, their shadow of an arm moving slightly.

A flash of silver.

"Yes... let's just calm things right down..."

**THE CASE. CHAPTER ONE.**

The young detective pushed his finger against the button labelled 'W' the same icon appearing on the high tech laptop currently sat on his knee.

"Yes Watari? What is it?" he spoke into the mike attached to the top of the laptop.

"Forgive me, I know you're very busy, but I would like to know if you would take another case?" The man named Watari answered.

"Well..." The young detective had to consider if he had the time to concentrate on yet another case. Neglection to a case was bad. Very bad.

"There has been a murder and the police have no leads. You don't think...?" The voice floated from the laptop.

Murder. The young detective's fist curled. Even with the amount of murder cases he'd solved, it still didn't make it any easier to accept that it happens. And today was the day that _he _was released... could it have been...?

"Watari, let me get back to you. I need to see if I can get myself another pawn so to speak. I already have someone in mind. I hope she is awake. In the mean time, dig up all the information you can involving this case."

"Done." And although the young detective couldn't see it, the elder man smiled.

Pushing the button labelled 'W' again to disconnect the call, the young detective named L began to hack his pawns computer to leave her a message.

Just as he had done once before.

* * *

Boy does it feel good to be free!

The wind in my hair, blowing gently across my face...

Fresh air!

The only thing that would make this better would be...

Rain.

How refreshing that would be. Still, the night air is almost good enough. People strolling... I still had to get used to _people_. Big crowds of them daunted me, but I was sure I'd get used to it. Even now though, the onslaught of names and numbers threw me a little. I was surprised so many people were out and about during the night. The reason I'd come out here at this time is because I thought there wouldn't be an abundance of people. I'd have to make my brain adjust. It wasn't accustomed yet as there were way less people in prison. To keep my mind at ease a little, I turned into an alley. No floating numbers. No names.

I sighed and relaxed. And wouldn't you know it - it started to rain! Nothing could spoil this.

"Hey!"

Nothing but a ten ton man walking smack into me.

"Watch where you're going punk!" The man growled at me. He was big, bald, and pug faced. Also, he seemed to have a short fuse... _Torue Adi. _Well I'm not putting up with him.

"Excuse me?" It was my first day out of prison too. Oh well.

"I said watch it! No one messes with Big T." He grunted.

Big T! Please tell me he's joking. I snickered which seemed to displease him.

"What do you think you're laughing at!"

"Big T? Oh please."

"That's it!"

The thug went to punch me but before his fist connected with my face, his designated area, I blocked him by enveloping my hand over his fist, then proceeded to twist his arm up his back.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!"

"Twisting your arm."

"Let go, now!"

I twisted it and pulled it further up his back. He screamed in agony.

"Say please." I spat. He winced. I gave his arm another tug. For good measure.

"P-please!"

"Please what?"

"Please let go of my arm!"

"Good boy." I said and released his arm, then continued to walk down the alley way to my shared flat, happy to have released some anger.

"Psycho-path..."

I stopped and looked back over my shoulder at the guy, currently rubbing his arm. The big, over confident thug... May as well have a little fun with him.

"Oh by the way _Adi_, I'd watch out for the fourth of next month if I were you." I told him, a little grin forming on my lips. I, of course, knew why he should watch his step. Although it wasn't like he could prevent it from happening anyway.

"Hey how do you know my... wait are you threatening me! What are you talking about!" I could tell that he was shook up and panicked, yet he tried to act tough, glaring at me through hate filled eyes.

Oh join the club would you? Like I hadn't seen them before.

"Oh nothing..." I resumed my steady pace away from the bald man and continued down the alley. "I just heard the Grim Reaper was in town..."

B.B you sure do amaze yourself. What a way to make him panic.

"What are you...Grim Reaper? What the hell! Get back here so I can pound your face in you... freak!"

I easily ignored the comment. Once again, it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before.

"Hey freak show! Get back here damn it!"

And with his panicked, scared, 'yet I'm trying to cover it up' voice ringing from behind me, I peacefully turned the corner onto my street, his echos now fading. I grinned to myself.

What a way to start my freedom.

* * *

"B-Beyond! Beyond!"

"What?" I mumbled groggily, my eyes fluttering open. I was on the couch of my shared apartment. Rubbing my eyes, I turned to face one of the friends I had made in prison. It was mostly his apartment as he had been released first, but he promised I could share an apartment with him when I got out too. For good behaviour. Would you have guessed? I was lucky - very lucky - I didn't get life.

It was only a small flat, mostly open area, with two smallish bed rooms and a toilet being the only things not open. It wasn't anything like the great big L.A Plaza Apartments down the road from us with their lobby and great big apartments. But it was good enough for me. I liked my room the way it was. Come to think of it, what was I doing on the couch? Well, I had been sleeping heavily a lot lately. My insomnia seemed to have disappeared.

"L-look Beyond! F-front page!" my prison friend, Ben Baterson, re-claimed my attention and threw my the newspaper he had been reading moments ago. I caught it no problem. Yes by the way, I know the irony. Ben Baterson. B.B. But no, I didn't have an impulse/reason to kill him and yes, I had put my murdering past behind me. I had changed a bit while in prison.

My attention turned to the front page where a blown up photo of a guy with long sandy hair and impossibly white teeth had been placed. I couldn't see his life span. The headline read; MURDER STRIKES IN L.A PLAZA APARTMENTS.

"Dude, what's this for? I've just gotten out of prison I didn't do it. Besides, he's not a B.B or a q.q..." I joked. Ben didn't laugh. He was right, it wasn't funny.

"J-just read it."

I glanced at the report.

Last night Greg Walker aged 29 was murdered in his own house. He had been stabbed fourtey four times in his chest and face. Poor Greg's body was discovered shortly after the attack as his cleaner had entered his house for her nightly job, and told the police the body had still been warm. Police are questioning members of the family and neighbours of the victim but so far nothing has turned up. Officer Micheal's said that the case seemed to be almost evidence proof, not even a single finger print had been left behind.

I stopped reading.

"Mate, what's this for?"

"Look at the c-corner picture."

I did as he said. The photo had been taken today, this morning in fact, outside of the building of apartments. Apparently that's as far as the pushy paps could get. People had already gathered around the lot to see.

News travels fast. Hold on... !

My eyes clapped onto a figure of a man that was barely visible within the vast crowd of people. Cleverly hidden. He was wearing a long black rain coat and a black hat pulled down low over his face so it was impossible to tell the identity of this man. To the unknown. But to those people in the know...those people like me... I wasn't sure but this man looked like...

"Wammy..." I breathed. Or at least, dressed as his alias 'Watari'.

"He s-sounds like that guy you d-described."

"He certainly does. But I'm not one hundred percent sure... more like eighty."

There was a high chance that this could be Watari. If in fact my eighty percent is right, then the only reason Watari would be there is because of L...

The one letter plunged me back into my obsessiveness. My craving to beat L. Ben knew why I had gone to prison. He knew about this obsession, that was how he knew what Watari looked like. He was the only person I told Ben what they ooked like though. I didn't want to go into details about her... and I felt that L was... personal to me. Ben understood. But now it seems that by telling Ben about Watari's appearance has worked in my favour as we had come up with and idea to help me over come L. A less extreme idea than mine, though this one would take longer.

You see, if L was on this case and so were B, then it would automatically become a race between the two. The winner would be the one who solved it first. Victorious. And if B were to continuously win, then slowly but surely he would become better than L. He would have beaten him. And live to see the end of it as well. People would forget the 'mighty' L, and the Back-up would have surpassed the original.

"Baterson, this is an interesting case."

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Which I shall accept."

"I knew it!" Ben clapped my back. I grinned slightly in anticipation. L won't even know I'm running against him yet... Oh how I love the element of surprise.

"Okay, let's find out what we can so far, then wait. L won't move untill the police won't be there I'm sure. And then, we can get to it." I stood up determinedly.

"I-I'm with you a-all the way B!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Reviews will make the update xD Stay with me, it'll get better, this one was just the warm up chapter! Re introducting the LABB characters and some new ones. Again, thanks for reading you awsome people! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay let me apologise for the wait, my internet has been down :( I'm sorry you guys! I hope this chapter really makes up for it! Reviews are welcome! :D**

**Chapter Two**  
**Chosen**

_Please destroy this laptop within twenty-four hours._

_L._

Naomi Misora sighed.

_Again? Could he not have chosen anyone else? And how about sending me a lovely coded letter instead of me destroying my brand new laptop again!_

God knows what she was going to tell Raye. It had been her anniversary present from him. He'd bought her it as her last one had been... ahem... _stolen_. Secretly though, a tiny bit of her was thrilled that she had been chosen _again_ by L. She bet that didn't happen too often.

But the rest of her was annoyed. She was going to have to lie to Raye again, use up her holidays from the FBI (Which she didn't get many of anyway) and on top of that, get _another_ laptop. Not to mention where the hell her last L escapade took her. She had been thoroughly freaked out by a man, assaulted in an alley way, had to have civil conversations with said freaky man who had later been revealed as the killer they were searching for, and finally, when she thought it was all over, she was assaulted yet _again_ at the station by a guy who looked exactly like Beyond.

Sheesh.

_I wonder where this'll take me_...

Sighing, Naomi rose, shrugged on her clothes and proceeded to hack the Funny Dish server. This time the second block of the second section.

"Ah, Misora-sama." The synthetic voice came from the laptop, bringing back memories.

_Here we go again_. She thought. This time though, she spared herself from embarrassment as she typed in;

"Hello again, L."

Rather than greet him out loud when he could not hear her. The calligraphic 'L' floated in the middle of the screen and she suddenly felt bad for her laptop, remembering how the same L had practically stared at her as she destroyed her last one.

_I'm sorry you poor thing._

"I'm glad you're awake. I apologise for requesting your assistance again, Naomi Misora, but as you did such an astounding job last time, I have come to ask of it again."

This time at least Naomi wasn't angry or pissed with the detective. During the LABB murder cases, Naomi had warmed to the synthetic voice that had checked in on her from time to time, and quickly gained respect for him.

"So you're asking for my help again?" she double checked.

"If you will Naomi Misora. I didn't know who else to trust."

Even though it was synthetic, Naomi caught some emotion on the last sentence. Loneliness...? But then a thought struck Naomi.

"L, you said you didn't know who to trust. You didn't know me before hand on the BB murder cases, so why do you need somebody you know now?"

She thought she heard a sigh.

"You are very perceptive, Naomi Misora, as I knew you would be. I have a suspect recently lifted sentence from prison, spotted around the vicinity around the time of murder. As soon as he's out, murder strikes? It's a low percentage, but I'm not taking any chances."

_L-lifted prison sentence? He called me... That means..._

"Naomi Misora?"

"L, do you suspect... Beyond Birthday?"

"Indeed I do. Only a two percent chance, but still. I understand if you are not willing to take the case."

_B-Beyond..._

Naomi was worried about seeing the strange man again.

_I don't know if I could take anymore of his crawling, his absurdness... what am I saying? I... I can handle him._

Naomi shook her head, then answered with;

"I shall do it."

"Thank you Naomi Misora-sama, I knew you could do it."

Naomi wondered why she had harboured any negative feelings towards the man. He was polite and kind-

"That's why I took the liberty of giving you leave of absence again."

Oh. That was why.

"Do not worry; I will have you re-instated again when the case is over."

Quite angrily, Naomi punched in a reply.

"What have you told them?"

It was more of a command than a question.

"Just something about you screwing up a case again. But once this is over, I'll have Watari say it was our mistake, and re-insane you."

She gritted her teeth. _Over confident, over prepared little..._

"Who is Watari?"

"He works with me. My right hand man if you will. My main eyes."

_Ah, so the main pawn then._

Naomi was quite happy and shocked that L had revealed that to her. If it had been before on the other case, she didn't think he would have shared that information with her.

"I want to thank you again Naomi Misora-sama, for helping. I shall give you the number to call me if you need to, and the address of the apartment block and the victim's floor and number of room. Please ring me on the given number when you arrive at the scene for more details concerning the case."

After memorising the information, Naomi turned off the computer and gave it a last, wistful glance, the pulled on a jacket and headed for the crime scene.

_I'll... destroy it later._

* * *

It was three days after the murder when L had contacted Naomi Misora and she had arrived on the scene, so the police were not there. The floor of the victim's apartment was empty and so was the actual apartment.

Though L had probably arranged for that to happen.

Taking out her phone, Naomi tapped in the complicated number for L.

"That was very swift Naomi Misora, well done."

So he still had that phone just for her calls.

"Thanks. So what am I looking for this time as there hasn't been any other murders linking to this one."

"Well this time could you look if there's anything that links in with the LABB murder cases please. Check if there is anything between this murder and the previous ones. If Beyond has done this, there would more than likely be some similarity between the two cases, given his finicky nature."

"Okay, check."

"Thank you Naomi Misora, you don't know what this means to me."

And then the synthetic voice was gone.

Naomi was touched. It seemed the Beyond Birthday meant something to L, and that this case was a big deal to him.

_And she had been entrusted with it._

Oh Lord. Well, she would try her best.

Hesitantly, she opened the door to the apartment, and walked in to immediately be in the cream coloured living room/kitchen. It was very open area. Pictures of Greg were framed and on every shelf available, some of him with others, but mostly of him on his own.

_Cause this guy didn't love himself. Okay, time to go over the facts._

Naomi sat down on the cream coloured couch and hoped that Greg wouldn't mind. She pulled out some files and pictures concerning the case out of a big brown envelope that had been handed to her by the receptionist in the lobby as she had entered.

The first was a file on Greg Walker.

Full Name: Greg Thomas Walker

Well, it was a B.B or a Q.Q. It wasn't even alliterative, so no similarity there.

Age: 29  
Parents: Thomas Walker – Deceased. Marie Walker – Alive.  
Occupation: Lecturer  
Girlfriend of two years: Nancy Crenshaw  
Best friend: David Johnson.

Well before, none of the occupation or past mattered. It was the names mainly, and age had only mattered for the second victim as she was a child to represent q.q. So there wasn't really a similarity there either.

Was it possible that he had dropped the name thing? It could be plausible, seen as though this is a different case. But what would his aim be this time? Last time the B.B and the Q.Q was to make L suspect him, to say to L "Ha, it's Beyond Birthday!" Then burn himself to death beyond recognition so that L couldn't prove that fact, therefore making the case unsolvable. And endless chase to catch someone who no longer existed.

_This doesn't seem like Beyond Birthday's style though. If it was him, he'd want us to know it was him. He'd leave a clue behind that was painfully obvious it was him, but it would be hard to find. Like the bookshelf clue at the first victims house on the last case. If I found something like that this time, it would have to be Beyond. No one else would be so... difficult? Maybe he left something around the house...?_

According to the file, poor Greg had been stabbed repeatedly forty-four times. Over the face and chest. The knife in question was then later found in the right pocket of Greg's jeans, wiped clean of any DNA at all.

Naomi considered whether the lack of DNA on the knife could be a similarity, or if she was gripping at straws.

Switching the file for the photograph, Naomi headed for the bedroom door, opened it, then stepped over the threshold.

_Start with the actual murder scene..._

The room was big, larger than an average single room. In the middle was a gigantic king size bed. Wardrobes lined the walls, and one big window with a window seat allowed the whole room to be illuminated.

Glancing at the photograph revealed that the corpse had been laid out on the bed in a five pointed star symbol. Whether Greg had fallen asleep like that or the killer had put him down like that remained a mystery.

But from her past experience with Beyond, Naomi knew that the placement of the body could be important. So she had to assume that the killer had placed him like that. But what could the five pointed star achieve?

Suddenly a wave of worry washed over Naomi. She wasn't sure she could do this. Last time she had almost been handed the answers on a silver platter by the killer himself, so she was bound to have gotten the answers right. And she had only figured out the Wara Ningyo on a whim. By accident. And it had almost been too late.

_L knows you can do this, he said so himself._

_Yeah but..._

_No buts! This case seems extremely important to him, and he chose to put his faith in you! So pull yourself together woman. If not for you, then for him._

Naomi lifted her head, slightly weirded out by the internal conversation she had just had with herself, yet feeling a lot better, and began to march towards the bed for some clue hunting, absent minded-ly running her hands along the smooth wall as she did so.

Suddenly she stopped. Her fingers had run over an indent in the wall.

Naomi stared at it.

_No way._

It was the exact same height as the wara ningyo.

_N-no. The police would have known and at least have taken photos of them if they had been there. Besides that, L would have definitely informed me..._

Oh God now she was over thinking things. It had probably of been a nail indent to hang a picture up. Of Greg no doubt. And he must've taken it down for some reason.

_Perhaps I should inform L, see what he thinks. No, what I need right now is someone who knew Greg Walker's flat well and could just make sure what the indent is from. I don't want L thinking I'll freak over the slightest little similarity..._

She had three options. Option A) Greg's girlfriend Nancy. Naomi had assumed that the receptionist downstairs was Greg's partner by the way she was bawling like she had lost a lover. But her name tag had read 'Maggie'. It would seem that Greg was a bit of a player if he had other girls strung like that. Naomi would have to find out more about that. A motive for killing?

Option B) Greg's mother, Marie Walker. Surely she went round to visit her son? Though it was common for the men to go to visit their mother's house instead, simply for the ease of it for her, and the gentlemanliness of it. It was a slim hope but Naomi could try.

Option C) Greg's best friend David Johnson. Apparently the two men had received numerous warnings about noise and boisterous behaviour. Especially when there was a game on TV. Perhaps he had been round so often, he knew about what used to be there. But maybe he'd been so drunk he's couldn't remember? Maybe he hadn't been in Greg's bedroom at all? With a game on TV, why would he? Naomi didn't know, but it was worth a shot.

_But maybe this is no story to the indent/ It could just be a nail sized dint. But it's worth checking out. Who knows if Beyond has been here and done this?_

She was about to decide who of the three close people to Greg to ask about the possible implication of Beyond being the one to do it, when she heard a noise. A soft little 'click'. It sounded like the front door being locked.

Naomi's heart raced. She had another key in her jacket pocket of course, it was the one she had used to get into the apartment in the first place. The person outside had effectively locked her in. Or at least until she unlocked the door. But who was it that had locked it? The apartment block knew that someone was going to be clue hunting for L, and had been told to stay away from the apartment. So the person must know that Naomi was in here, so then they would know that she must have another key to get in the apartment in the first place.

So why lock her in? If they knew she could get out again in a jiffy, what was the point?

There was a rattle as the door was pushed, as if they were trying to get in themselves. Or most likely making sure the door was securely locked water tight.

Naomi gulped and slowly exited the bedroom, then silently crept towards the door, stopping a little while away from it. She was close enough to make out mumbles on the other side. They sounded like hushed curses.

_He's swearing like a trooper._ Naomi thought as she realised it was a man's voice.

"It's because you've just gone and locked it you bloody idiot!" a second voice sounded loud compared to the first, causing Naomi to jump in surprise.

_There's two of them?_

Naomi was confused. If they were trying to lock her in, they should have walked off by now instead of standing there arguing about the fact that it was locked.

_So...that's not what they are trying to achieve?_

"W-well, I didn't know it was open did I! It's a-a bloody crime scene, I would've thought they'd have locked the damn doors!" the first voice tried to defend himself.

The second man sighed. "Give me the key, I'll do it."

There were some grumbles from the first voice, then another 'click'. That was when it finally hit Naomi.

_They're coming inside!_

It was too late to try and hide. She had been too wrapped up in listening to them. It was mostly an open area flat anyway, she wouldn't know where to hide.

"Okay, this is it."

They were going to see her. Naomi gulped.

Friend or foe?

* * *

**I bet you can guess :D Thank you so much for you AMAZING reviews! You guys are so kind! A special thanks to .You for that really lovley review, you kept me smiling the rest of the day! It makes me so happy when I know people are enjoying my story so please review! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! Next Chapter! I hope you enjoy! :D**

**Chapter Three**

**Reunion**

"_M-Miss Misora!_"

"Beyond Birthday!"

Naomi Misora gaped at me in surprise. I probably looked the same to her.

"Um, c-care to introduce me?" I heard Ben ask as he stepped into the apartment to stand beside me, but I ignored his request.

_What the hell is_ she _doing here? Isn't she supposed to be doing stiff for the FBI? _They're _not involved are they?_

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same to you!" she deflected my question easily. Suddenly, a weird look of understanding flitted across her face.

"The culprit returns to the scene of the crime. I get it. Well you can't fool me _Rue Ryuzaki_. I know damn well who you are! That trick will not work again." She sure looked pissed.

_It seems she hasn't forgotten or let go of the whole Rue Ryuzaki thing. Ah shit_.

"Hold up Miss Misora, I know you know my name, but I didn't come here to tell you it was Rue Ryuzaki are any other alias. I came to investigate. Much like yourself I presume."

Ben had caught up with the tension in the air and had the sense to remain quite. Thank the lord.

"Oh, come to 'investigate' your own crime right?" Naomi Misora crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing and shooting me death glares.

I was bewildered.

What was this chick babbling?

"I haven't done this! Why would I investigate my own crime?"

I didn't realise what I had said until Naomi's eyes somehow narrowed more.

Oh...well...yeah. But then it clicked. She actually honestly suspected that I had done this.

"No! Miss Misora, you've gotta believe me, I haven't done anything! I didn't commit this murder! I've only just got out of prison; do you really think I'd want to go back so quickly?"

It didn't look like she believed a word of what I was saying.

_Oh great, you kill a few people then every murder is pinned on you? That's bloody brilliant. It was their time! I let them got peacefully... well, painlessly at least. How am I supposed to go about this?_

"Woah, woah, I'm B-Ben Baterson, Beyond's pal. I can vouch for this man!" Ben suddenly intervened.

Ah, good ole Ben.

"He was asleep, drooling on my couch that night!"

I resisted the urge to either face palm myself or punch him as Naomi's eyebrows arched in disbelief.

_Charming..._

"Honestly, I didn't do this." I tried again, hoping to draw her attention away from Ben's previous statement.

"Then what are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes locking on to my now brown ones.

Sheesh, she's not afraid is she? I thought she'd be a little panicked to see a serial killer again. Especially me, the one she _put in jail_.

"Investigating. Like you."

"But _why_?"

"Ah-ha, my turn." I raised my eyebrow waiting to see if she'd object. She didn't. Though she did make me feel glad that looks couldn't kill.

"Is there anyone else here?" I tried to glance behind her and into the bedroom, the door wide open.

I couldn't see anybody.

_Screw the FBI, I need to see L's pawn!_

Naomi looked a little taken aback by my question.

"No." She answered. "Should there be?"

No? But L's pawn would be here by-

Oh no. I felt an awkward prickle on my back as it dawned on me.

_Don't tell me it's her! Not again!_

"Earth to Beyond Birthday!"

"It's you? _You_? No, why would... _you_? Ah shit." I stuttered.

Christ I was starting to sound like Ben.

If Naomi Misora is once again L's pawn... well then I'm screwed. How am I meant to find out about this case with her staring at me and telling little Lawli about me every five damn minutes? He wasn't even supposed to know I was here doing anything about this case yet. Damn it.

Naomi glared at me.

"It's me what? What's me?"

"L..."

The one letter threw her. Naomi's strong facade melted as she paled considerably. That was the only confirmation I needed; she was the pawn.

Great.

But then, as if she was waving a neon flashing sign with the words 'L sent me!' on them, she mumbled something about calling someone and sidled into Greg Walker's bathroom.

Yeah, I wonder who she's calling?

"_Oh Lawli, it's awful, meany weany boheeny Beyond Birthday is here. What do I do? Oh save me L you great hunk of a detective!" _

Maybe I was clinically insane. Nah.

"Okay, what the _hell_ was all that about?" Ben asked, shutting the front door and proceeding to sprawl over the cream coloured couch.

I quickly sat next to him on the couch, glancing at the door to the bathroom as if I could keep it shut with my eyes.

"Look, you know when I did those murders before? And I said there was L's pawn there? Well... it was her who you just met. Naomi Misora. Miss Misora."

Ben's eyes widened in surprise and alarm. So now he gets the gravity of the situation.

"Wait, s-so she's L's eyes again?"

"Yeah Ben, yeah she is. But more to the point, why'd he pick her again?"

This was so unlike him.

"Maybe he l-likes her? Liked her work?"

"No Ben, even if he did like her, heck even if her _loved_ her, he wouldn't use her again. It's never been heard of."

"Well, she did a superb job last t-time by the way you described it."

"I know that! She saved my worthless life. But _even so_, there must be another reason... some similarity or a link between this case and the last to make him choose her again."

"But B m-mate, if you look at it from their point of view and j-judging from what Naomi was saying earlier about returning to the scene of the crime, f-factor in that L sent her here..."

And then it hit me.

"_Bastard_! That moronic, paranoid, _bastard_!" I yelped and jumped up from the couch.

_I_ was the similarity! _L_ suspected me! _Me_! I've only just gotten out of prison and the prick had the _nerve_ to suspect that I did it!

"I thought he was meant to be smart!" I fumed. Sure, it hadn't seemed so bad when I thought it was only Naomi who blamed me. But now _him_?

"W-well put it this way Beyond; you're already w-well on your way to beating him." Ben swung his legs up on couch where I had been sat, seeming totally at ease.

How could he though! I thought he'd be able to tell that this is not my style at all. Well, it does seem a bit of a coincidence, as soon as I'm let out, murder strikes? And mine and Ben's flat is only down the road. But L...

If I thought about this logically, L mustn't suspect me that much yet. Two percent at best. There just simply wasn't enough to go on to fully suspect me. I must just be a niggle at the back of his mind...

But this being L, he wouldn't want to take any chances. Thus contacting the only other person who had been there with me during the LABB murder cases to check things out. I bet she had been looking for similarities between both cases damn it. And if there was one and she was currently informing L...

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

* * *

"Are-are you sure?" Naomi whispered into her phone. She was still concealed in Greg Walker's green and blue bathroom. It was as big as her bedroom.

"Yes, please share your information with him. I am sure this shall prove useful, if he agrees to co-operate." The synthetic voice asked her.

"But-"

"My reasoning, Naomi Misora, is because my percentage of suspecting him has dropped to point five percent. He may also share information that he has acquired." The young detective answered Naomi's unspoken question.

"L...I..." Naomi still didn't trust B. No matter how unlikely it seemed that he did it, even in her eyes, she still did not trust him. But L on the other hand...

"I understand. I shall inform him immediately."

"Thank you Naomi Misora."

He was gone.

Naomi sighed and reached for the door handle, half expecting to see B there listening when she opened the door. Like last time. Naomi sighed again, hoping that L was right. Even to Naomi, Beyond seemed innocent of this crime. There just wasn't anything to implicate him.

_Apart from the indent._

Which she had to tell Beyond about. And of course he's going to deny anything to do with it. Naomi had to judge for herself whether B was telling the truth or not. Which could be hard.

_Well, here I go._

Naomi opened the door to see both Ben and Beyond waiting patiently in silence, Ben on one couch and Beyond on the opposite one, both staring at the coffee table in the middle.

"Um..." Naomi broke the uneasy silence. Both men turned to face her instantly.

_Well this isn't awkward..._

"Well...have you guys got any information on the case? We can swap." She told them and sat down opposite Beyond, looking at him.

The uneasy atmosphere faded and Beyond gave a slight grin.

"Would you share with us, even if we don't have any to give back?" he asked.

_None to...damn it._

Naomi sighed and pulled out the files that she had received from L.

"Okay, a file on the background information of Greg Walker, a photo of the corpse and a report on what had happened to him."

Naomi laid the files out on the table as she read them out, then pushed them towards Beyond who picked them up and began to read.

"Well there are no _similarities_ between this murder and the LABB ones..." Beyond stared at Naomi, eyebrow raised.

Her eyes widened in shock.

_He knew L suspected him? Well, he probably figured it out for himself. L probably knew that B knew that we suspected him... complicated. Well, L said to share information, so it'll be okay._

Naomi nodded at Beyond.

"But there is one thing... I'm probably over thinking it though..."

Beyond's eyes narrowed.

"There's a hole in the wall in the bedroom."

"And?"

"It's at waist height."

Beyond's turn for wide eyes.

"Show me." He demanded, handing Naomi back the files.

She nodded again and all three trooped into Greg's bedroom, the sun light still flitting in. Once again Naomi gently guided her finger along the wall and headed for the bed. The she felt it.

"It's here."

Beyond knelt down and examined the hole. It was at waist height like Naomi had said, and it was just the right size for a nail.

_Son of a... what bad luck. How can I prove this wasn't me? It's not for any of my wara ningyo distractions..._ Beyond thought.

"Miss Misora! Check the door!"

"Huh?"

"The lock! On the door!"

"Of course!"

Naomi wondered why she hadn't thought to check it herself when she had entered before as she marched over to the door.

"No... no lock. At all." She reported.

Beyond relaxed.

_Yes. Thank you lord_.

Naomi was deflated.

_I knew I was over thinking things. Now we have no leads. Well, at least Beyond's in the clear for now._

"Ryuzaki, I'm sorry. I guess you have no ties to this murder after all." Naomi told him.

"Who th-the hell is this 'Ryuzaki' bloke you k-keep mentioning?" Ben suddenly commented, not catching on that it was Beyond's old alias.

Beyond clapped his back.

"It's no one now pal."

"Oh? I'm sorry, I just assumed... and old habits die hard."

"It's alright Miss Misora; you may call me Ryuzaki if you wish."

The three then returned to the main room and resumed their seats.

"Well then, now that's cleared up, can we start searching for messages from the real killer?" Beyond asked.

Naomi Misora slumped a little in her seat. They were back to square one. With nothing. Nada. Zero. But... with Beyond and his friend now on the team, would things go smoother? From an ex-killers point of view? She sure hoped so.

"But Ryu- Beyond, what if there isn't one this time? This could be a one off murder." Naomi pointed out. Now that the suspicion of Beyond had all but vanished, she wasn't sure if the motive really was to kill anyone else. Perhaps it was just jealousy as Naomi had thought earlier.

"I-it couldn't hurt to look right? It's still a murder case. M-me and Beyond are still going to look. We need to-to find the killer." Ben in-put.

_Hmm, well that was true, there is still a murderer out there._

"Plus you don't want to go back to L empty handed."

For some reason it felt sort of like Beyond was _mocking_ her as he said that. Or at least L.

"Ryuzaki, do you hate L?" Naomi blurted suddenly.

Realising that she was being unkindly nosey, Naomi looked repentant. And was shocked when he answered her.

"Hmm, hate L? I never could. How could you hate the one you idolise?" he answered in a distant voice, as if he were some place far away.

"You idolize L?" Naomi couldn't help but ask, being lost in the moment, her curiosity proving to great. She had always had a feeling that there was a deep connection between B and L. Did B know L? Naomi knew there was a story behind them, and she was truly intrigued.

"In a way yes. I suppose you could say I idolise him. In a way... a way where you almost want to _be_ that person..._become_ them...perhaps be better than them..." Beyond's gaze was to the fireplace, but he was seeing something else entirely.

"_Come on then B!" A young boy with sandy blonde hair giggled and beckoned me to the garden where he was now running in._

"_I'm coming A, just wait a minute!" I had fallen over in my pursuit of the boy, but I had just looked at the graze and shrugged, then carried on after my friend._

_Friend. The word was so alien to me. I had never had a friend before... before I came to this place._

_Wammy's House._

_Such a sweet name, house, _home_. I guess you could say I'd never had a 'home' before either._

"_You made it! But om! Do you want me to go tell dad about your cut?" A's eyes scanned my face for any signs of pain or panic._

_I sighed and sat down next to him on the blanket that Wammy had laid out for us._

"_Nah, I'm fine." I told him, rolling down my jeans leg. He didn't know I'd had worse._

'_Dad' was Quilish Wammy. To A. But to me, even though he was the best – if not the only – father figure I'd ever had, I could not bring myself to call the kindly old man 'dad'. I knew I had one somewhere. And every day I used to wish he'd come back. But now I had pretty much accepted he wasn't going to return. But I still hoped. Hoped he would be guilty for leaving his four year old son with his mentally unstable mother, and come save me. I guess things weren't that bad now though._

_Wammy didn't mind me calling him Mr Wammy, though he insisted that I dropped the 'Mr' part. But I never did. I knew it was a sign of respect and, in a way, the kindly old man had saved me instead. Saved me from my past..._

_I blocked the memories before they came. I didn't want to think about them now._

"_Hey A..." I began._

"_That rhymed!" he squealed with joy. A preferred to deal with his orphan status by being childish, seeing things colourful and fun... and who was I to stop him? _

"_That's great, but A, why... why are we here?"_

_The sunny, never fading aura that always surrounded A did the impossible. Faded._

"_Because nobody wants us." Was his dark answer._

"_But, A, there's more to it than that. We're given hard puzzles to solve and riddles to answer. Weird situations which we have to figure out a way to complete with no errors... I've never been to school before, but the books I've read don't say a single thing about things like that."_

"_You've never been to school? But you can read?" A completely missed the point._

"_No A, I taught myself."_

_It hadn't been easy but-_

_I blocked the memory._

"_That's amazing..." He breathed._

"_But what do you think about it though? About why we're here?"_

_A's thoughtful face was on display as he considered what I had said._

"_Well...um..." He started._

"_You are here B, because you hold potential." Wammy suddenly appeared and put a hand on both our shoulders._

"_What do you mean Mr Wammy?"_

"_Yeah dad, what are you talking about?"_

_Wammy smiled at us before continuing._

"_You are both very smart boys. The world needs smart boys like you to help it when it needs you to. You both have the potential for that." He began to explain, waiting to see if we understood so far._

"_But, Mr Wammy, what happened to Missy?" I asked, confused about the girl – her real name Misty – who had arrived around two weeks ago and had left yesterday. She always asked for my help during puzzle class. I thought I could gain another friend._

_Wammy sighed and his smile faltered a little._

"_She was a brilliant, funny and lovely girl B, but she had to go to another orphanage. She wasn't as... smart as you two, but she was smart in her own way. But unfortunately she couldn't stay here."_

_He patted my head soothingly._

"_Do you two know what the term 'successor' means?" Wammy asked us and A almost hit the old man in the face as he raised his arm instantly._

"_Ooo! A person who follows or takes the place of another." He said eagerly._

"_Correct my boy, well done!"_

_A beamed._

"_Well boys, that's what you two are."_

_We were successors? But to whom?_

"_Mr Wammy, who will we be succeeding?"_

"_My dear boy, you know all the news reports about cases that I have been showing you both? And do you remember about that man I talk about who solves them all?"_

"_You mean that L guy?" A piped up._

"_The very same one."_

"_We'll be succeeding him?" I marveld._

_L was a pure genius!_

"_Yes my boy! Now you two, how about a celebration with cookies and milk?" The kind old man beamed at us._

_A squealed and charged for the kitchen happily. I followed after him in a daze._

_So did this mean that I was a genius? That one day, I would become the astounding brilliant man known as L? Oh my Lord._

_L was to become my idol. I would make him proud. I would show him how I'd be the best successor he will ever live to see. And then... what could be better than being L? Could I... surpass L? That would be ultimate genius... be better than L? Is that even possible? Right now though I must focus on becoming him. And then... maybe I could surpass L and become genius B? The successor surpassing the original...?_

Naomi Misora had unknowingly lent forward, drawn in by Beyond's admittance to idolising L. So far in fact that she was on the very edge of her seat. To her it looked like Beyond was someplace else. She didn't want to disturb him, but she wanted to know more about Beyond's past and if he knew L. Naomi didn't know why, but it intrigued her.

Shyly, she tapped the back of Beyond's hand that was resting on his lap. His head jerked slightly and snapped to look at Naomi. Her cheeks flamed in apology.

"Er g-guys? Murder case going on?" Ben waved his arms in the air to re-focus everyone's attention.

"Yeah you're right mate, sorry." Beyond shook his head to clear it, then stood up and clicked his neck.

"Alright, I'm gonna check the kitchen. Miss Misora, the bedroom?"

"Got it." She rose, stretched, then once again went to the bedroom.

"Ben, that leaves you the bathroom mate."

Ben stood up and groaned.

"Great." He exclaimed sarcastically, then headed for the bathroom.

Time to get down to business.

* * *

**A/N; Yay flash back! Bet you weren't expecting that xP Maybe you picked up on some clues about Beyond's past...? I'd love to hear what you think! :D Please review! I'll love you forever if you do! And thank you so much everyone who has reviewed, you have no idea how you much you made me happy! Thanks so much for the extra specially nice ones, you rock! Oh and btw, Megaphone. Kills. You. (Did it this time! xP) It twas you :D (And I'm happy that you're happy that I'm happy xD!)**


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